


the part we choose to act on.

by Idnis



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Crossover, Harry Potter Crossover - Freeform, Help, M/M, gay and angst, obviously, yeah i went there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-06
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-11 11:45:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12934587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idnis/pseuds/Idnis
Summary: During another detention, Neil finds himself sharing the potion classroom with another student,one with expressionless, brown eyes.Or: Neil and Andrew are gay for each other, as per usual, but now at Hogwarts.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [YunaDragneel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/YunaDragneel/gifts).



> HELLO lovely people!
> 
> After the intense writing I'd done in November I decided to slow down on my last prompt and really take my time for it. Hence why it's become longer than I had anticipated. But here's the AftG/Harry Potter crossover :D
> 
> Thanks to YunaDragneel for helping me shape this universe!

‘That’s bullshit,’ Neil stated.  
  
‘Frankly, I do not care,’ Riko said, looking descendingly down at Neil. ‘But setting my… personal feelings aside, my eyes can see very clearly, Josten, that your potion is below average. Dreadful, I’d say.’

As was always the case during potion class,  
Neil had a zero tolerance policy for its teacher,  
Riko Moriyama.

Or professor Moriyama as he was officially called,  
though the dick was only a year older than Neil.  
  
How anyone that young could’ve had aspirations to immediately return to school after graduation was beyond Neil,  
but then he guessed Riko got off on the superiority.  
  
If only he didn’t feel the need to jizz in Neil’s face every lesson.

Otherwise Neil would’ve been perfectly happy keeping his head, and voice, down  
and work on his potions.  
Which weren’t dreadful.

‘I had no idea I’d made a reflective potion, professor,’ Neil said in surprise. ‘Now I understand that you think it looks…’ he paused for effect, staring into Riko’s eyes. ‘Dreadful.’  
  
Riko’s jaw clenched in irritation,  
but no way was Neil taking back his words.

‘Fifty points,’ Riko hissed. ‘From Slytherin.’

Neil laughed.  
‘Did you just come in your pants?’

Beside him, Kevin tugged hard on his sleeve, whispering frantically,  
‘Neil, shut up.’

There was a moment  
a second,  
as Riko stared down at Neil  
where Neil saw his eyes lit up green  
saw him thinking the forbidden words,  
but then Riko reeled his anger in and said in a quiet and calm voice,  
‘Detention, Josten.’

Neil refused to be intimidated,  
so he looked Riko straight in the eyes as he replied,  
‘Lovely.’  
  
With a swish of his black robes, Riko turned around and stalked back to the front of the class.  
  
Kevin smacked him hard on his arm.  
  
‘That was stupid.’

‘So? He was going to give me a bad grade again. Because he doesn’t like me.’

‘You should’ve let him,’ Kevin whispered angrily.

‘Oh yeah?’ Neil said. ‘I want to graduate in potions, Kevin. And I need good grades to do that.’

Kevin crossed his arms.  
‘Maybe if you’d take quidditch practice more seriously…’

‘And be in the newspapers every other day? Yeah, no.’

‘There’s nothing wrong with that,’ Kevin argued. ‘It’s just like needing good grades. It’s all about people judging your work. Praising it.’

Neil hated it when Kevin had a point.

‘And maybe your potion was shit,’ Kevin added.

Until Kevin didn’t.

‘Shut up.’  Neil glared at Kevin. ‘It’s near perfect. I’ve been brewing complicated, deadly potions before Riko could say the word ‘egotistical’.’  
  
‘This isn’t a deadly potion,’ Kevin pointed out.

Neil sighed in irritation.  
‘Go look at your muscles or something.’

ᶴ

Of course he couldn’t ditch detention.

He wanted to,   
but  there was the entire issue about Hogwarts being a boarding school  
and  
the only place Neil had ever felt could be his home.

Too bad he’d have to leave in less than two years.  
  
‘If you’re late for detention,’ Kevin said, ‘They’re going to ban you from quidditch practice again.’

Which was a sore point for Neil.

When people were around,  
Neil pretended not to like quidditch,  
because his father would definitely not like him spending his time flying around  
when he could be studying all the different ways to  
not entirely  
kill someone.

‘Yeah, yeah, I’m going,’ Neil said, hurrying towards the exit and nearly bumping into Allison on the way out.

‘Hey Neil,’ she smiled seductively at him. ‘Off to a late night rendezvous?’

‘No,’ he answered,  
not stopping to stay and talk.  
  
ᶴ

Neil didn’t bother knocking on the dungeon’s door,  
deciding that if he was already in this mess,  
he might as well burst through it with a confidence he didn’t possess.  
  
However, when the door swung open and Neil walked into the dungeon,  
his steps quickly slowed as he noticed that he wasn’t alone with Riko.

A slow, slippery smile made its way onto Riko’s face as he noticed Neil’s hesitation.  
  
‘Neil,’ he said smugly. ‘Welcome to your detention.’

Neil eyed the guy sitting on a bench to the right  
and chose to sit on the left side of the classroom, a few rows behind the unknown Hufflepuff.

‘Now,’ Riko said slowly. ‘Isn’t this lovely? Two of my most loyal subjects, gathered in this classroom.’

‘Fantastic,’ Neil said sarcastically. ‘We definitely don’t hear your voice enough.’

Riko ignored him in favour of smiling at the quiet Hufflepuff.  
  
Neil absent-mindedly wondered what on earth a Hufflepuff had done to piss Riko off.  
Exist probably.

‘Unfortunately for you, I won’t be talking. And you won’t be either. But you’ll be brewing some potions for me.’  
  
‘Why?’ Neil shot back. ‘Need us to do your job for you? Did they finally realize you’re just an overgrown gnome?’

One of Riko’s hands twitched  
and before Neil could blink,  
Riko had moved in front of his desk, pulling him up by his robes.

‘I’d keep my mouth shut from now on, Josten,’ Riko hissed, pulling his wand from his pocket. ‘Or I’ll hex it close.’

‘You can do that?’ Neil said in surprise. ‘I thought there was a reason you became a potion master.’

Before Neil could duck, Riko punched him  
hard  
against his head.  
  
As someone who was used to being experimented on with hexes intended for torture,  
a physical blow was somehow  
worse.

Neil’s head was throbbing.

He didn’t have anything to retort,  
fear spiking through his veins.  
  
Riko dropped him,  
then walked back towards his desk.

‘You’ll be brewing Alihotsy Draught, Josten.’  
  
Staring down at his desk in silence, Neil merely nodded,  
swallowing against the pain in his head.  
  
‘As for you, Minyard,’ Riko continued. ‘You’ll be making a Hate Potion.’

Though he didn’t look up,  
Neil could hear the guy snort.  
  
‘I expect them to be finished before midnight.’

ᶴ

For about two hours,  
Neil sat and worked quietly in the cold dungeon,  
his head still pounding, still hurting.

Until Riko stretched lazily before standing up, smiling slowly as Neil looked up at him.

Riko stopped near the door to call over his shoulder,  
‘I’ll be back at midnight.’

And then it was just Neil and the Hufflepuff guy in a cold dungeon  
with two bubbling cauldrons in front of them.

Neil wasn’t one to strike up conversation, so he kept his head down and continued working on his not so difficult potion.

ᶴ  
  
Half an hour later, Neil suddenly noticed that the guy hadn’t been doing much other than stir his potion once in a while,  
and when he looked closely,  
saw that his books were closed and his table was cleared up.  
  
Wait a sec.  
‘Are you done?’ Neil asked in surprise.

‘With what exactly?’ asked a bored voice.

‘Your potion.’

‘Yes.’  
  
It was weird that the guy didn’t turn around while they were sort of having a conversation.  
All Neil could see was blonde hair  
and broad shoulders.

‘Then why are you still here?’ Neil asked.

‘Thought you might need a witness in case professor Moriyama murdered you.’

What?

‘He’s not going to hurt me,’ Neil said,  
but as soon as the words left his mouth  
he recalled Riko’s fist slamming into his head.

The guy snorted, seeming to know this too.

It irritated Neil.

‘Riko can’t intimidate me.’

‘I never said he did,’ the guy replied, still stirring his potion slowly  
and not even looking at Neil.

‘So what did you do?’ Neil asked.

‘I brewed a Hate Potion.’

Something about this guy  
seriously irritated Neil.

He turned towards his potion again, since it was time to add some crushed dragon scales anyway,  
and decided he wasn’t going to speak to him anymore.

Until.  
‘I hexed one of my classmates.’

Neil looked up in surprise  
and saw  
expressionless brown eyes.

‘What?’

‘I didn’t want to work with her,’ the guy explained, sounding bored.  
  
That seemed like an overreaction.

‘I thought Riko would give you house points for that,’ Neil said.

Instead of replying,  
the guy tilted his head to the side as he observed Neil.

It made Neil want to fidget.  
‘You can go,’ he said instead.

There was something  
piercing,  
knowing,  
about the way the guy looked at Neil.

It lasted for maybe a second or two more,  
before he simply stood up and walked out of the classroom.

Leaving Neil alone.

ᶴ

During his lessons the next days,  
Neil started paying a little more attention to who he passed in the corridors.

Just because he thought it was weird that he’d never seen the guy before.  
  
Not that he knew a lot of Hufflepuffs.  
  
Falling down on the leather couch near the fireplace, Neil asked Kevin,

‘Do you know any Hufflepuffs?’

Kevin raised an eyebrow.  
‘Not much. Maybe ask Allison.’

‘What?’

Kevin pointed towards one of their bigger tables where people usually did their last-minute homework  
or pretended to anyway.  
Allison was talking with a couple of other girls,  
whose names Neil hadn’t bothered to learn.

He walked closer.

‘Allison,’ he called out.

She looked surprised to see him walking towards her, but smiled nonetheless.  
‘Hey there,’ she said, lowering her voice to a sort of purr. ‘What can I help you with?’

Neil wondered why she always did that.

‘Yeah, uh. Do you know any Hufflepuffs?’

The other girls started laughing out loud,  
but Allison merely raised an amused eyebrow.

‘I sure do,’ she smiled. ‘I know they like soft kisses and ice cream.’

Neil had no idea if she was being serious.  
‘What?’

‘My girlfriend’s in Hufflepuff.’

She had a girlfriend?

‘Okay,’ Neil said. ‘And does she know a blonde guy with brown eyes?’

Allison leaned her head on her hand, observing him with knowing blue eyes  
as Neil realized how stupid his question sounded.

‘Never mind,’ he said and walked back to Kevin.

ᶴ

‘This is, without a doubt, the worst potion I have ever seen,’ Riko said scathingly, peering into Neil’s cauldron.  
  
Neil’s heart started beating faster as he felt himself get irritated again.  
Did Riko have any idea how badly Neil needed to get good grades in potions?  
  
Probably.  
  
‘In fact,’ Riko continued, ‘It’s actually a rather remarkable feat.’  
  
His dark eyes slid towards Neil with a glee that had Neil’s hand itching for his wand.

‘To be this…’ Riko’s lips curled up. ‘Worthless.’

Kevin’s hand on Neil’s arm was like a vice,  
gripping him tightly,  
so Neil could do nothing more than stare Riko down  
wishing he knew how to do wandless magic.

Riko gave him one last pitying look before turning around to look at the cauldrons of the other students.

And then Kevin made the mistake of slightly loosening his grip.  
  
Neil immediately reached for his wand  
and pointed it at Riko.  
  
A girl to his left was looking wide-eyed at him  
as Neil murmured  
_‘Crucio.’_ _  
_ _  
_ In the split second before the spell could shoot out of Neil’s wand,  
Kevin showed everyone just why he was a famous quidditch player,  
as he quickly knocked Neil’s outstretched arm to the side,  
successfully altering the spell’s course.  
  
It hit a guy from Gryffindor.  
  
Screams  
echoed eerily through the dungeon  
and Riko turned around sharply, watching the Gryffindor guy writhing on the ground and then quickly looking around until his eyes fell on Neil’s outstretched arm.  
  
Unfiltered  
glee  
made its way onto Riko’s face,  
in the split second that he locked eyes with Neil.

Then his face smoothed over again,  
and he looked stern and serious as he said,  
‘Detention, Nathaniel. Pack your things.’  
  
Wordlessly, Neil watched the Gryffindor guy stop shuddering as the spell ended,  
watched the tears streaming over his face,  
watched how his classmates were helping him sit up,  
were wiping away his tears,  
touching him  
comforting him.

Weird.

Neil packed his things  
and left the classroom  
alone.

ᶴ  
  
‘What were you thinking?’ Kevin yelled at him, as he sat down across Neil at the Slytherin table. ‘I know Professor Moriyama gets under your skin, but think about your parents! Your family!’  
  
Neil knew all this,  
and so he dutifully ate his jacket potatoes while listening to Kevin’s rant.

He knew he should endure Riko’s bullying.  
Endure the physical  
corrections.  
  
His head suddenly throbbed as he remembered the punch.

‘Maybe you should’ve been put in Hufflepuff,’ Kevin said. ‘Since you’re clearly not using your brain.’

Instead of getting angry at Kevin for the insult, all it reminded Neil of was his detention a week ago,  
blonde hair  
and brown eyes  
and  
_I hexed one of my classmates_.

Same  
Neil thought,  
and before he’d given it any real thought, he was turning around to look at the Hufflepuff table across the Great Hall.

He saw lots of faces he didn’t recognise,  
but not the one he was looking for.  
  
Some of the nearby Ravenclaws were frowning at him,  
but Neil ignored them,  
searching through the sea of faces  
almost giving up until he saw-  
  
Brown eyes that were already looking at him.

Neil felt the gaze like a shock,  
like a jinx that froze his muscles.  
  
‘Who are you?’ Neil muttered as he locked eyes with the Hufflepuff guy,  
for once in his life not feeling uncomfortable by his stare.  
Just a little irritated.

‘What? Neil, turn around and listen to me,’ Kevin said loudly, grabbing his jumper and shaking him until Neil reluctantly broke the eye contact.  
‘You’ll be lucky if professor Moriyama keeps quiet about this, you know?’

But Neil had never been lucky  
and so as soon as he heard the bone piercing screech of his parents’ barn owl,  
he knew what was coming.

It wouldn’t be a howler.

Best not to draw negative attention to yourself, right  
father?

Neil’s hands were shaking  
as he opened the letter.

‘ _Nathaniel._

 _We heard what happened from professor Moriyama. We are disappointed. You do not attack_ _unprovoked_ _. Have you learned nothing?_ _  
_ _  
_ _Maybe we’ll need to revise your education._ _  
_ _  
_ _Don’t think about coming home during Christmas. We have no use for failures._ _  
_ _  
_ _Nathan.’_  
  
A failure.  
Worthless.  
  
And alone.  
  
It wasn’t like Neil was happy in his parents’ house, surrounded by his father’s cruel hexes and his mother’s physical way of teaching him the way the son of an ancient, pure blooded family should behave.  
  
It also wasn’t like Neil got any friends at Hogwarts.  
Kevin was the stain from childhood playdates forced on them by their pureblood families.  
  
And Neil didn’t know a lot of other Slytherins, apart from a few pure blooded ones.  
But  
the other Slytherins didn’t stay during the holidays.  
  
Would’ve been nice, Neil thought, if he’d learned to like feeling lonely.

He hadn’t.

‘ _Reducto_ ,’ he said  
and watched his father’s letter  
and expectations  
blasting into pieces.

ᶴ

  
Unlike last time, Neil quietly opened the doors of the dungeon.

Unlike last time, Neil was alone with Riko.

Neil’s heart shot in up in his throat  
and he tried to swallow,  
but his fear was making it hard.

‘Ah, welcome Josten,’ Riko turned towards him. ‘Please sit down.’

Taking careful steps towards the benches, Neil carefully sat down at the left side of the classroom again.

Riko moved to stand next to him.

‘For this,’ he said calmly, holding out his hand. ‘We don’t need our wands.’

With a trembling hand,  
Neil reluctantly put his wand on the desk in front of him.

Riko immediately snatched it up, then moved to his own desk in front of the class, where he put Neil’s wand in a box.  
Though Riko calmly put the lid back on the box,  
to Neil it sounded deafening.

He tried swallowing again but couldn’t.

It was like he was quietly choking  
on fear.

Riko turned around again.  
‘Perfect,’ he said quietly,  
and with just as quiet steps moved to stand next to Neil again.

‘Eyes in front please,’ Riko instructed.

As Neil obeyed, Riko made a pleased sound in the back of throat.

‘Now, Neil. This requires your utmost silence. Do you think you can manage that?’

Riko’s voice could almost be described as friendly.

Neil released a shaky breath  
and nodded.

The words sounded familiar.

‘ _I do not like screaming, Nathaniel._ ’

The treatment was somewhat familiar too,  
as Riko grabbed Neil by the back of his head and  
_slammed  
_ his head on the wooden desk.

Neil’s nose broke with a crack.

Riko pulled Neil’s head up again,  
only to  
bash  
it  
against  
the desk  
again.

Blood spurted from Neil’s nose  
and his head started pounding terribly.

Pulling up Neil’s head,  
Riko took one look at the damage, then pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wiped away some of the blood gushing out of Neil’s nose.

Seemingly satisfied with the result, Riko pocketed his bloodied handkerchief  
and  
slammed  
Neil’s head against the desk again  
with a loud _crash_.

When he lifted Neil’s head, he leaned forward so he could look Neil in the eye.  
‘You see, Neil,’ Riko said. ‘I don’t need a wand to _crucio_ someone.’

As requested,  
Neil didn’t make a sound  
while blood poured over his face,  
getting into his eyes.

‘I am impressed with your silence,’ Riko said, smiling friendly at him. ‘It would be so much better if you were like this all the time, Neil.’

Neil’s hands only gripped the bloodied desk in front of him tighter.

‘I think one more will do.’

Neil tried to leave his body  
just like he did at home  
but Riko put all his strength into the last swing  
slamming Neil’s head against the desk with such force that Neil could hear the wood groan  
and tear.

Then  
Riko let go of his hair  
and moved away.

‘Clean this desk,’ he said, walking towards the door. ‘Then you can go.’

It cost a lot more to lift his head off the desk than Neil wanted to show.

ᶴ

Kevin saw him first as he walked into the nearly empty common room.

Was it late?  
Neil had no idea.

Through the swelling around his eyes,  
he barely saw Kevin’s jaw clench.

‘You shouldn’t have defied professor Moriyama,’ Kevin said.

Neil wanted to hold onto his silence  
but it was getting difficult,  
so without another word he turned around and walked towards his dormitory,  
closing the curtains around his bed and casting a silencing charm.

Neil cried.

ᶴ

Nobody came to check on him.

ᶴ

Neil sucked at silencing charms.

ᶴ  
  
The next morning,  
Neil wanted to forgo breakfast  
but chose to skip looking in a mirror before making his way downstairs instead.

Slipping onto the Slytherin bench before he attracted too much attention to himself, Neil forgot to sit with his back to the Great Hall,  
as he normally did.

No one talked to him as he tried to eat his toast.

Chewing, however, was a horrible choice.

Neil winced, and quickly poured himself some cereal,  
spooning it into his mouth with the utmost care.

It still hurt.

Suddenly  
there was the feeling of being watched  
and Neil lifted his head immediately to search who-

Oh.

Neil met the Hufflepuff’s eyes across the Great Hall.

There was a weird kind of intensity about the gaze  
and then all of a sudden the guy stood up,  
still holding his breakfast knife  
until someone smacked it out of his hand while he started walking  
oh no  
walking towards Neil.

Neil debated walking away,  
because attention was never a good thing  
but then the guy was already sitting down in front of him, shoving a first year Slytherin girl to the side.

Neil didn’t know if he should continue eating his cereal.

‘What?’ he asked,  
when the Hufflepuff didn’t say anything.

‘I don’t like this look on you,’ the guy said.

‘I have no idea what you’re talking about,’ Neil said sarcastically,  
deciding he _was_ going to finish his cereal,  
but wincing when he opened his mouth wider than was possible.

‘Congratulations,’ the guy said. ‘You’ve officially regressed to a baby. Not able to eat fluids or have a sense of self.’

Irritation made Neil’s pain disappear momentarily.

‘What’s it to you?’

But the guy didn’t look exceptionally intimidated.

What a weird Hufflepuff, Neil thought, before remembering that he’d never really spoken to a Hufflepuff before.

The guy’s brown eyes were piercing into Neil’s with an intensity  
that yet again didn’t make Neil uncomfortable,  
only wondering if he was really  
worth  
the attention.

‘What happened?’

‘Detention,’ Neil answered,  
and watched as those brown eyes darkened dangerously.

A hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder from behind, making Neil flinch.

‘Neil. Let’s go to class,’ Kevin said behind him.

Some part of Neil wanted to stay and talk.

But the more reasonable, the more logical part of him, knew it was best to follow Kevin.

‘Yeah,’ he said, eyes still not leaving the guy’s.

‘Now,’ Kevin hissed, pulling Neil’s shoulder back.

Neil got to his feet, finally tearing his eyes away, only to see Kevin glaring at the Hufflepuff guy.

What?

‘This is not your table, Andrew,’ Kevin said disapprovingly.

Neil turned back to  
Andrew.

Who was watching Kevin’s hand gripping Neil’s shoulder.

Then his eyes flickered up,  
watching Kevin with a fake smile as he said,  
‘You can finally keep the colours yellow and green apart? Good for you.’

Kevin didn’t respond,  
instead pulling Neil towards the exit of the Great Hall.  
Away from Andrew.

ᶴ

During the next Potions class, Neil kept his head down and his mouth shut,  
working diligently on his potion.

When Riko paused near his cauldron and  
leaned over,  
Neil flinched away  
but managed to keep quiet.

‘Not getting better, Neil?’ Riko sneered, as he looked from the bubbling potion to Neil.

But Neil dropped his eyes to his table  
and said nothing.

‘Or maybe you are,’ Riko mused, before walking to another pair of students.

Beside Neil,  
Kevin said nothing.

ᶴ

And again, Kevin didn’t know what to say as he stood in front of Neil,  
who was sitting at the ‘not commonly used for studying’ table.

After a few awkward fidgets, Neil sighed.  
‘Have a nice Christmas, Kevin.’

‘You too,’ Kevin replied. ‘Don’t get on professor Moriyama’s bad side.’

‘I don’t know if he even has another side,’ Neil muttered.

Kevin’s look told Neil that was exactly what he’d meant.

‘Fine,’ Neil said. ‘Wasn’t my intention to visit him during Christmas anyway.’

Nodding, Kevin slung his expensive leather bag over his shoulder and walked away with a short,  
‘Bye.’  
taking Neil’s social life with him.

ᶴ  
  
The following morning, waking up without the familiar chatter of his house mates, Neil felt horribly  
alone.

Dragging himself out of bed wasn’t easy, and when he wandered to the Great Hall he was way too late.

Breakfast was over.

Okay then.  
Only because he wanted to stay fit for quidditch did he drag himself down to the kitchens.

The door was closed, so Neil knocked and waited  
and waited  
and waited  
and yeah.

He took out his wand and whispered ‘ _alohomora_ ’.

The lock on the door opened with a soft click and Neil slowly pushed it open,  
looking around the abandoned kitchen.

Searching for food, Neil had just opened a few cupboards before he heard a high-pitched shriek behind him.

Jumping in surprise, Neil automatically drew his wand, spinning around and pointing it at his assailant, who turned out to be  
a small house elf.

A small, _crying_ house elf.

‘Oh,’ Neil said, putting away his wand. ‘Sorry.’

It didn’t help.  
The elf wouldn’t stop crying or shaking.

Looking at it awkwardly, Neil opened his mouth to say  
‘It’s okay, I-‘  
before the elf disapparated.

Crap.

ᶴ

‘I know you have a high detention record,’ Professor Wymack began, looking up from the piece of paper in his hand. ‘But bullying a house elf sounds a little pathetic, don’t you think?’

‘I didn’t bully it,’ Neil said.

‘Yet Notty was crying her eyes out, saying you pointed a wand at her threateningly.’

‘I didn’t.’

‘Why were you breaking into the kitchen?’

‘I missed breakfast.’

Professor Wymack lifted an eyebrow as he looked skeptically at Neil.

‘I swear,’ Neil said. ‘I was just hungry.’

‘And have you eaten anything?’

Neil thought the question was weird,  
but still answered,  
‘No.’

‘Well. You go get something to eat soon, okay?’

Surprised by the order, Neil didn’t immediately move.  
Instead he asked,  
‘Where’s Riko?’

‘Professor Moriyama had to go home. Family emergency,’ Wymack said vaguely.

Though Neil was sure the sun didn’t just burst through the clouds,  
it felt like Wymack’s messy office was a little lighter anyway.

It was still weird that the head of Gryffindor had decided to take over Riko’s job in correcting Neil, but...  
Neil decided he would just count his lucky stars and head back to the dormitory.

He’d taken a few steps towards the door when professor Wymack called after him,  
‘Oh and Neil. I can’t let you off the hook for breaking into the kitchens and pointing a wand at a house elf.’

Ah.  
Figured that Neil never had any luck.

‘When’s… detention?’ Neil asked,  
surprised at how difficult it was to say the word.

‘What?’ Wymack asked, surprised. ‘I’m not gonna waste my time watching you. No, you’re gonna be a good guy, earning some good karma by helping out in the kitchens during Christmas break.’

What?  
‘No offence,’ Neil said. ‘But isn’t that what the house elves are for?’

‘Such a pureblood.’ Professor Wymack shook his head. ‘Some of them went away for the holidays. So they’re short staffed.’

‘Oh,’ Neil said, feeling a little dumb.

‘Yeah, oh,’ Wymack said. ‘Now go.’

Just before Neil could grab the door handle, Wymack yelled at him,  
‘And get something to eat!’

Fine.  
Neil decided to go back to the kitchens after all.  
Hopefully without scaring a house elf.

ᶴ

Walking back towards the kitchens, Neil thought about how lucky it was that Riko had been called home.  
He wondered what had happened,  
and wondered how it would affect _him_.

Unwillingly, he thought back at his father’s letter from two weeks ago.  
The letter that arrived just before he’d called bullshit on Riko’s judgement of his potion.  
  
He wondered if the emergency had any effect on his father’s decision.

So lost in thought, Neil didn’t see the guy standing next to the kitchen door until he almost bumped into him.

Neil jumped back in surprise,  
but then he recognized Andrew.

‘What?’ Neil asked, not in the friendliest of tones.

Uncrossing his arms, Andrew silently unlocked the door and held it open for Neil.

Neil made no move to get inside the kitchen.  
‘Why are you here?’

Andrew raised an eyebrow.  
‘Eat and I’ll tell you.’

Why did everyone want him to eat?  
  
Sending Andrew one last suspicious look,  
Neil walked into the kitchen, which was not so abandoned now, a small house elf cleaning a few shelves.

‘Um,’ Neil said, not wanting to startle another elf. ‘Could I have something to eat?’  
  
The elf dropped his cleaning rag to bow, then started pulling bread and other kinds of food from shelves and cupboards.

‘Great,’ Andrew said behind Neil,  
who jumped at the sound.

‘So?’ Neil turned around. ‘Why are you still here?’

Andrew observed Neil for a second before answering,  
‘I’m in the kitchens because Wymack ordered me to.’

‘I meant at Hogwarts.’

‘Oh,’ Andrew said, lips curling up in a mocking smile. ‘Well. When I was eleven, turned out I could do ma-‘

‘Forget it,’ Neil said, irritated.

‘Not interested in my life story?’

‘I just want a straight answer from you.’

Andrew snorted.  
‘You’re never going to get that.’

A small cough sounded behind him and when Neil turned around, he saw the house elf approaching him quietly, putting a club sandwich in front of him.

‘Thanks,’ Neil said, grabbing the sandwich.  
  
As soon as he’d taken the first bite, he realized he actually had been starving.

Without turning around, he said to Andrew,  
‘Your job’s done. I’m eating.’

‘One bite isn’t breakfast,’ was Andrew’s short reply.

Fine.

So Neil ate the rest of his sandwich in silence, while Andrew moved towards one of the counters and sat on top of it, watching Neil eat.  
  
The silence was slightly awkward.

When he was done, Neil showed Andrew his empty plate.  
‘Good enough?’

But Andrew didn’t look at the plate,  
instead his eyes were watching Neil like Neil had a secret Andrew was dying to know.

With a startle, Neil realized the feeling was mutual.  
  
Andrew broke their eye contact and jumped off the counter, walking towards the kitchen door without saying anything.  
  
‘Wait,’ Neil said, suddenly realizing something. ‘Do you know my name?’

Andrew looked over his shoulder.  
‘Of course I do.’

ᶴ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next time; 'Great,' Renee smiled. 'Andrew will help you.'
> 
> ohhhh dear please tell me what you think!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovely people!
> 
> Hope you're all doing well and that you're not yet snowed in :)
> 
> Enjoy the second part!

  
The next day, Neil was up early enough to eat breakfast in the Great Hall.  
  
The Slytherin table looked pathetically empty, with only a few people sitting at it, which were mostly first years so Neil didn’t know any of them.  
  
He sat down at the end of the table and started filling his bowl with cereal,   
before looking over curiously at the Hufflepuff table.  
  
Neil was surprised to see Andrew sitting next to a girl with short hair in all kinds of bright colours.   
Even more surprised to see that the girl was smiling while she was talking to him.

Girlfriend maybe?   
  
Neil took another bite of his cereal,   
then wondered why he hadn’t grabbed a piece of toast.   
  
Oh yeah.   
He couldn’t eat toast without pain for nearly two weeks.   
  
Neil stubbornly dropped his spoon and grabbed a piece of toast,   
reaching for the bacon while he was at it.   
  
When he looked up, Andrew and the girl were standing up from the Hufflepuff table, grabbing their things and then heading towards the door.   
  
Neil knew they would pass the Slytherin table.   
  
Should he talk to Andrew?   
But why on earth would he?   
  
Maybe, Neil thought, because he wouldn’t talk to anyone else for the rest of the day.   
  
But he shouldn’t.   
  
Only attract attention from people you  _ want _ it from,  
his father always said.   
And let them see you at your best.   
  
‘Andrew,’ Neil called out, moving to his feet and knocking over his glass of juice, which spilled all over his toast.   
  
Andrew paused, turning towards Neil,    
and the girl behind him did the same, watching Neil curiously.   
  
But Neil didn’t know what exactly he’d wanted to say.   
_ Talk to me? _   
  
Andrew looked bored,  
but for some reason, he still waited for Neil to say  _ something _ ,  
so Neil pointed towards his breakfast plate and said,  
‘I ate breakfast.’   
  
‘Pretty sure you spilled juice over a piece of toast,’ Andrew said. ‘But you got to start somewhere.’   
  
Again Andrew’s remark irritated Neil,  
so he snapped back,  
‘Aren’t you supposed to be kind?’    
  
Andrew raised an eyebrow.   
‘What?’   
  
‘You’re a Hufflepuff.’   
  
‘Thanks for the boring label,’ Andrew said. ‘Where’s your snake? Where are the dead bodies?’   
  
‘Excuse me?’ 

Andrew crossed his arms and said sarcastically,  
‘You’re a Slytherin.’  
  
Neil felt himself getting angry at the ridiculous stereotype  
that maybe hit a little too close to home  
as he thought about his father.  
  
He was just about to snap something back when the girl behind Andrew moved forward, holding out her hand.

‘You must be Neil,’ she smiled. ‘I’m Renee. Also a Hufflepuff.’   
  
Neil shook her hand in surprise,   
wanting to ask her how she knew his name when she said,  
‘Are you going to help out in the kitchens again today?’   
  
Neil blinked.   
‘I think so.’   
  
‘Great,’ Renee smiled. ‘Andrew will help you. It’s close to our common room anyway.’   
  
‘With what? Eating?’ Neil said sarcastically.   
  
‘Actually-’ Renee started but got cut off by Andrew.   
  
‘We’re going, bye.’   
  
As Neil watched them leave the Great Hall,   
he wondered why he’d called out to Andrew in the first place.   
  
ᶴ  
  
When Neil knocked on the kitchen door this time,  
nobody started crying or screaming.   
  
Instead, the same quiet house elf from yesterday opened the door for him and silently let him in.   
  
‘Um,’ Neil said, looking around awkwardly while the elf went back to cleaning. ‘What can I do?’   
  
The elf looked at him for a moment,   
then spread its arms, indicating the entire kitchen.   
  
Right.   
  
Neil hesitatingly picked up a cleaning rag and started wiping down counters.   
  
ᶴ  
  
After a while of rigorous cleaning, the elf tapped Neil on his arm and nodded.   
  
Was this its way of saying Neil had done enough?   
  
Neil nodded back hesitatingly, feeling slightly  
disappointed  
as he realized Andrew hadn’t shown.  
  
ᶴ  
  
Closing the kitchen door behind him,   
Neil startled badly when someone said,  
‘Done already?’

Neil spun around and stood face to face with Andrew.   
  
‘The elf said I could go,’ he shot back.   
  
‘That would be a miracle,’ Andrew commented, before starting to walk towards a closed off hallway left of the kitchen.   
  
‘You said you would help,’ Neil called after him.   
  
Andrew turned around.   
‘No. I didn’t. Renee did.’   
  
‘Then what  _ are _ you doing here?’ Neil asked, crossing his arms.   
  
The mocking smile returned.  
‘Funny story. When I turned eleven, I got a letter saying I could do magic.’   
  
‘Fine,’ Neil said, taking a few steps back, towards the hall that led to the abandoned dungeons. ‘Don’t tell me.’   
  
Andrew observed him,   
and to Neil it almost looked like he was making up his mind.   
  
Then Andrew asked in a bored voice,  
‘Do you know what you’re asking?’

Neil stopped walking.   
‘Yes. Why you’re at Hogwarts during Christmas.’

‘No,’ Andrew said, shaking his head.   
  
And with a few steps, he’d closed the distance between them.   
They were standing close enough that Neil could see the two freckles inside Andrew’s left eye.   
  
For some reason  
it fascinated him.   
  
‘No,’ Andrew repeated. ‘No, Neil. You’re asking for something personal. A story. A reason. So. Do you know what you’re asking?’

Oh.  
But   
still, Neil wanted to know.

‘Yes,’ he answered.   
  
Andrew tilted his head to the side.   
‘I’m not going to tell you. I don’t trust you. Slytherins lie.’   
  
Neil felt outraged by the stupid generalization.  
‘That’s bullshit,’ he said. ‘Not all Slytherins lie.’   
  
‘And not all Hufflepuffs are kind,’ Andrew said in a flat voice.  
  
Neil had no answer to that.   
  
Andrew was right.   
‘Course he was.   
  
Neil dropped his head,    
feeling like he’d been corrected  
even though he hadn’t been hexed or punched.   
  
‘Neil,’ Andrew said.   
  
Neil didn’t look up,   
because eye-contact sometimes made it worse,  
made the punishment so much worse  
and if he just-

‘Neil,’ Andrew said again, louder this time,    
snapping Neil out of his thoughts.   
‘If you ask different questions, you’ll get different answers.’   
  
The closeness   
the piercing gaze   
it was getting too much,  
so Neil took a small step back.

‘Why didn’t you come to the kitchens?’ he asked.   
  
‘I did,’ Andrew replied. ‘I just waited outside.’  
  
The answer was irritatingly simple  
and very stubborn.

‘Fine,’ Neil said.

Something flickered behind Andrew’s eyes as he asked,  
‘Were you waiting for me?’

Of course, Neil couldn’t say anything other than  
‘No.’

Andrew smiled a mocking smile,  
taking a few slow steps back as he said,  
‘Don’t be a stereotype, Neil.’

ᶴ

When the door to the kitchens opened,   
Neil told himself he wouldn’t turn around to see if it was Andrew.   
  
Because it wasn’t like he’d been waiting for him.   
Again.   
  
It was silent in the kitchen,  
except for the sound of Neil’s scrubbing  
and the harsh wind blowing outside.   
  
But then it became too much,  
and Neil looked around to find Andrew sitting on one of the counters, looking down at him.   
  
‘What?’ Neil asked.   
  
‘Wasn’t this what you wanted?’ Andrew asked boredly.   
  
‘For you to watch me clean?’ 

Andrew shrugged.   
  
Sitting back, Neil paused his cleaning to stare back at Andrew.   
  
It might’ve taken a while for one of them to move,   
because Neil sure wouldn’t be the first,  
but then the quiet elf suddenly turned on the tap and the sound of water falling into an empty bucket startled them both out of their staring.   
  
Neil blinked.   
‘You can clean that counter you’re sitting on,’ he told Andrew.

‘Where’s the fun in that?’   
  
Ugh.   
‘Fine,’ Neil said. ‘Then you can make us lunch. I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast.’   
  
There was a silence, and Neil wondered if Andrew would refuse again and simply stay there, watching Neil until Neil was sure he would be too nervous to move.   
  
Nervous?   
Wh-   
  
‘Okay,’ Andrew said, jumping off the counter and moving towards the cupboards that held the bread.  
  
Oh.

Stunned,  
Neil stared at Andrew for a few seconds longer before remembering he was supposed to be cleaning.   
  
ᶴ

Surprisingly, it turned into a little routine.   
  
Around noon, when Neil had cleaned almost the entire kitchen, Andrew would walk in and make lunch for them both.   
  
They didn’t talk a lot,   
Neil wasn’t one for small talk and it seemed Andrew wasn’t either.   
Besides, their silences were comfortable and seemed   
trusting.   
  
ᶴ

However, the day Andrew decided to make a cake for lunch,

Neil had to stop him.   
  
‘No,’ he said.   
  
Hands sticky with cake batter, Andrew turned around.   
‘No?’   
  
‘No cake.’   
  
Andrew looked like he was disappointed in Neil.   
  
‘Are you sure?’ he asked, taking a few steps towards Neil, batter falling onto the floor Neil had just cleaned.   
  
‘Yes,’ Neil said, frowning at the stains on the floor.    
  
Andrew crouched down in front of him.   
‘Why?’   
  
‘It’s not really healthy.’   
  
But Andrew wasn’t impressed by this answer,   
staring Neil down with a blank look on his face.   
  
‘And,’ Neil confessed, ‘I don’t really like sweets.’   
  
Andrew raised an eyebrow.   
  
Without meaning to, Neil added,  
‘My parents didn’t want me to eat them.’   
  
Andrew observed him for a few seconds,    
then said slowly,  
‘You haven’t tried it.’   
  
All of a sudden the atmosphere in the kitchen felt  
tense.

Neil wondered why Andrew was sort of  pressing him to try out cake that wasn’t even fully baked yet.  
It wasn’t finished, didn’t even resemble a cake,  
so how would Neil know if it was good?  
  
By trying it, probably.  
  
Then  
Neil did one of the stupidest things in his life,  
simultaneously earning himself a spot in Gryffindor  
as he reached out and took Andrew’s hand,  
bringing it to his mouth and   
licking a bit of the batter off Andrew’s finger.  
  
The taste wasn’t overly sweet  
and Neil found that he actually liked it.  
  
When he looked up,  
something had darkened behind Andrew’s brown eyes as he watched Neil  
and it made Neil’s heart  
pound harder  
in his chest.  
  
But then he also noticed the rigid way Andrew’s arm was still outstretched,  
even though Neil had let him go.  
  
‘Sorry,’ Neil said quietly.  
  
Immediately, Andrew dropped his arm.  
‘And?’ he asked, voice sounding a little rough.  
  
‘Nicer than I thought it would be.’  
  
‘Wait till you try the whole cake.’  
  
‘Is it going to be worth it?’ Neil asked teasingly.

But Andrew said in a serious tone   
‘I don’t know.’  
and Neil wondered if their conversation had been about the cake after all.   
  
ᶴ   
  


Christmas didn’t have a particularly important part in Neil’s life   
or childhood   
but he was still dreading spending it alone.

The Slytherin common room was eerily quiet,  
and the silence gave Neil too much time to think,  
the letter his father had written floating around in his mind,  
haunting him.   
  
So instead he went to the library to pick up a book with cake recipes,  
wanting to give Andrew  _ something _ for Christmas.   
  
He’d stuck with him for a whole week after all.   
  
Leafing through the book and looking for a cake that wouldn’t be too sweet or difficult,  
Neil thought back about   
tasting  
the cake batter on Andrew’s finger  
seeing   
the darkness in Andrew’s gaze  
and hearing   
the roughness of his voice as he’d asked Neil what he thought.   
  
It heated his cheeks   
and made his throat feel dry whenever he thought back on it.

And he had.   
  
Sometimes even  
at night.   
  
Neil looked around awkwardly,  
but nobody was in the library.  
Why would they?    
It was Christmas break after all.

Neil quickly chose a recipe and copied it onto a piece of parchment.   
  
ᶴ  
  
‘Um, sorry,’ Neil said quietly to the house elf. ‘Could I maybe get a few ingredients for a cake?’   
  
The elf turned around and looked curiously at him, so Neil held up the parchment with the recipe.   
‘I want to make it for Andrew. As a Christmas present,’ he explained.   
  
The elf smiled at him, then nodded and held out its hand.  
Neil handed it the paper, and as quick as lightning, the elf had collected all the ingredients and utensils, laying them out on the counter.   
  
‘Thank you,’ Neil said in surprise, while taking back the parchment and propping it against the wall as a reference.  
  
Working his way through the recipe and getting ready to plunge his hands into the bowl to knead the batter,   
Neil thought it was a nice way to keep himself occupied and his thoughts away from thinking about-   
  
The door behind him opened   
and with a surprised gasp, Neil quickly turned around, shielding the bowl behind his back.   
  
Andrew froze in the door opening.  
  
‘What?’ Andrew asked, narrowing his eyes.   
  
‘What?’ Neil repeated, managing to keep his voice level after years and years  
of lying.  
  
The fact that he was bent awkwardly over the counter might work against him however.   
  
Andrew looked at Neil like he was wondering if Neil thought he was really this stupid.   
  
‘Brewing some kind of illegal potion?’ Andrew asked, taking a few steps towards Neil.   
  
‘No,’ Neil said. ‘Just cleaning.’   
  
Still Andrew moved closer.   
‘Really?’   
  
‘Hmm.’   
  
‘I don’t believe you,’ Andrew said, lowering his voice.

There was something in his gaze as he slowly moved closer,  
backing Neil against the counter,  
that made Neil’s throat suddenly feel very dry.   
  
Until there was no way Andrew could move any closer   
without pressing their bodies together.   
  
It worried Neil that he kind of wanted Andrew to.   
  
‘Are you going to move?’ Andrew asked.   
  
Neil shook his head.   
  
Eyes staring darkly into Neil’s,   
Andrew asked,  
‘Do you want me to?’

Neil thought simultaneously yes and no,   
and wondered absent-mindedly if this was what all the boys in his year had been talking about   
two years ago.   
  
He could now understand the appeal.   
  
‘Time’s up,’ Andrew said, putting his hand on Neil’s shoulder and pushing him to the side.   
  
Neil quickly turned around to come up with a logical explanation, but to his surprise the counter was   
empty.   
  
Then his eye fell on the silent house elf, scrubbing down the shelf to their left.    
It winked quickly at Neil before dutifully continuing its work.   
  
Neil crossed his arms smugly as Andrew turned towards him.   
  
‘Keeping secrets?’    
  
‘Didn’t you know?’ Neil replied. ‘I’m a Slytherin.’   
  
Andrew gave him a deadpan stare before moving to make them lunch.   
  
ᶴ  
  
Neil looked at the wonky cake  
and thought it looked like he’d made a valiant effort.   
  
And he hadn’t used a scrap of magic for it.  
  
Not even when the house elf had handed him some yellow frosting   
and Neil had manually tried to draw a Christmas star on it,  
because some of the cakes in the book had it too.   
  
He’d failed spectacularly though.

And now, standing near the kitchen at ten in the evening, Neil encountered another problem.

How was he going to get the cake to Andrew?   
  
Next to him, the kitchen door closed shut  
and Neil startled so badly he nearly dropped the cake.   
  
But it was only the silent house elf, who looked up curiously when he saw Neil's fidgeting.   
  
Neil sighed.   
  
‘Neil?’ a girl’s voice called out and this time,  
Neil did drop the cake,  
ruining hours of labour  
if not for the house elf’s magic keeping it suspended in the air before it could touch the ground.   
  
Grabbing hold of it again, Neil turned to find Renee standing in the hallway.  
  
‘What are you doing here?’ she asked, sounding friendly.   
  
‘I, um.’   
Neil looked at the cake in his hands.   
  
‘Is that for Andrew?’ Renee smiled knowingly.   
  
‘No,’ Neil said immediately,  
before feeling stupid and admitting,  
‘Yes. It’s his Christmas present.’   
  
‘Oh,’ Renee said surprised. ‘You already know him so well?’   
  
‘I wouldn’t say that,’ Neil muttered.

‘So... why are you standing here exactly?’  
  
Neil looked awkwardly at the cake.  
‘I don’t know how to give it to him.’

‘Oh, no worries. I’ll show you our common room,’ Renee said cheerily, moving towards the hallway Neil had seen Andrew walk to countless times.   
  
‘I’m not sure-’ he started, but Renee cut him off.  
‘Nonsense. I’m sure.’   
  
It was hard to hold onto the cake as he reluctantly followed Renee towards the Hufflepuff common room.   
  
He watched as Renee tapped the barrels in the hallway numerous times,  
curious as to why she didn’t mind him seeing,  
and then followed her down a sloping, earthy passage into a low-ceilinged and cosy looking round room.   
  
Plants everywhere,  
Neil thought as he looked around the room with its warm yellow, orange and wooden furniture.   
  
Curled up on one of the large armchairs near the fire was Andrew.   
  
Neil quietly followed Renee.   
  
‘Hi Andrew,’ Renee said. ‘I have an early Christmas present for you.’   
  
When Andrew looked up and saw Neil,    
he gave Renee a blank stare that somehow made her giggle.   
  
Neil didn’t really understand.

But then Andrew’s eyes found his again,  
so Neil said,  
‘I’ve got something for you.’   
  
‘Is it lies?’

Neil rolled his eyes.  
‘No, it’s a better attitude.’   
  
To Neil’s surprise,  
he saw the corner of Andrew’s mouth twitch.

Then Andrew stood up and moved a little closer.   
  
‘Do I have to look behind you again?’ he asked,  
the closeness  
and the tone of Andrew’s voice  
reminding Neil of the afternoon,  
and his heart started speeding up against his will.   
  
He held out the cake in front of him.   
  
‘Here,’ Neil said, before remembering that wasn’t what people normally said during Christmas. ‘Merry Christmas.’

Andrew looked down at the cake.   
  
And said nothing.

‘It’s supposed to be a Christmas cake,’ Neil said, looking down at his cake as well. ‘But the star didn’t work out.’   
  
Again,  
the corner of Andrew’s mouth twitched.   
  
‘Oh,’ Andrew said, looking at the yellow blob in the middle of the cake.   
  
Yeah.   
  
As the silence lasted, Neil began to feel a little awkward,  
but when he looked up, Andrew was already watching him with an intensity that made Neil feel like the cake wasn’t a   
failure  
after all.   
  
Like Andrew thought Neil wasn’t  
a failure.   
  
‘Have you tried it?’ Andrew asked.   
  
‘Of course not. I couldn’t give you half a cake.’   
  
Andrew shrugged, finally taking the cake from Neil and moving towards one of the little round tables in the common room.

Neil followed, and was surprised to see that Andrew had produced a knife from somewhere and was already cutting the cake in half.   
  
‘Want to try it?’ Andrew asked, sounding like he couldn’t care less.   
  
‘Yes,’ Neil said, with a certainty he felt was too much for the question.   
  
Andrew’s hand stilled for a moment  
and then he turned his head to look at Neil.  
  
Neil swallowed.   
‘I want to try it,’ he said.   
  
Andrew watched him silently,  
before turning his attention to the cake again and cutting a piece for Neil.

He thrust it into Neil’s hand.

‘So you don’t lick it off my finger.’   
  
The words   
and mental image  
heated Neil’s blood,  
so he wordlessly took the cake.   
  
‘Would’ve been nice,’ Renee mused, moving a little closer to take the piece of cake Andrew was holding out for her. ‘If Nicky had been here.’   
  
Neil had no idea what she meant  
but he knew for a fact that   
he  
was glad to be here.   
  
Not alone  
on Christmas eve.

ᶴ

The next morning when Neil woke up,  
he felt happy.

He moved to sit up in bed, then startled as the sounds of plates clinking and cups rattling suddenly sounded through his bedroom.    
  
Moving slowly, Neil sat up and watched as   
breakfast    
flew through his dormitory,  
assembling itself on a tray on his bed.

What?

With a frown on his face, Neil watched the toast start buttering itself before two pieces of bacon flew over.  
Like Neil wasn’t capable of making his own toast.   
  
It didn’t end there however.

A bowl of cereal scooted over, and Neil looked in suspicion as the letter cereal starting forming words,  
wondering if this was the most original death threat he’d ever received.   
  
But the words said  
_ ‘eat your breakfast’ _   
  
And though Neil could hear Andrew’s voice sounding quite threatening,  
he knew this was his Christmas present.   
  
Very funny.   
  
But there was in fact a smile on his face as he picked up his spoon and started eating his breakfast.   
  
ᶴ  
  
Neil couldn’t wait to talk to Andrew again that afternoon,  
and debated going down for breakfast anyway,  
just so he could see Andrew sooner.

Taking the steps two at a time,  
Neil practically ran through the hallway towards the Great Hall.

Then stopped dead in his tracks  
as his eye fell on the figure standing in front of the entrance.

Riko turned around and smiled silkily at Neil.  
‘Merry Christmas, Josten.’

Neil’s blood felt like ice in his veins  
as he stood frozen in place.

To his surprise, Riko’s gaze merely slid back to the Great Hall,  
the smile still on his face.

Neil turned around  
and bolted.

ᶴ  
  
The day Riko returned  
was the day Andrew went missing.

He didn’t show up around noon in the kitchens,  
so Neil hesitatingly walked towards the Hufflepuff common room and tapped the complex password on the barrels.

In the round common room, Renee immediately ran towards him, eyes concerned.  
‘He’s not with you?’

Neil shook his head.  
‘I thought he was-‘

‘He’s not.’

Neil didn’t want to connect the two events,  
because it was entirely possible that they weren’t.

‘Is this normal?’ Neil asked.

Renee shook her head.  
‘He hasn’t been like this for a long time.’

‘We should look for him.’   
  
‘No,’ Renee said, ‘Andrew is very good at silencing spells.’   
  
Neil was too,  
but his spells silenced   
people.  
Courtesy of his father’s education.  
  
‘Tell me when he’s back,’ Neil told her,  
but when he exited the Hufflepuff common room,   
he started looking for Andrew anyway.   


ᶴ  
  
And didn’t find him.

Neil tried to keep his panic to a minimum,   
but his steps fastened as he walked around the mostly empty castle.  
  
ᶴ  
  
After hours of searching,   
Neil had to admit that he couldn’t find Andrew and so, defeated, walked down the stairs to get back to the Slytherin common room.   
  
Nearing the wall that would lead to the hidden passageway into the Slytherin common room,    
a figure quietly passed Neil in the dark corridor.   
  
What?   
  
Neil turned around to see who it was  but the figure was wearing a black hoodie.   
  
A black hoodie,   
dark pants    
and combat boots.   
  
Neil quickly ran after the figure while grabbing his wand,  
just to be sure.

Not wanting to shout in the abandoned corridor  or worse, be wrong about his assumption,  
Neil lightly tapped the figure on their shoulder instead.   
  
The stranger immediately spun around  and Neil quickly took a step back,  holding up his wand on instinct until he saw   
Andrew glaring at him.   
  
Yet something made Neil not lower his wand,  
something about Andrew’s posture  
and the look in his eyes-  
but it quickly changed.   
  
Andrew’s intense gaze turned from murderous  
to dark   
and something else,    
something that made Neil’s stomach twist,  
that heated his blood.

It was a look he’d wished Andrew would give him.   
  
Neil breath shuddered,   
and a shiver wrecked his body  
as he wanted to ask where the hell Andrew had been for the past few hours  
but then Andrew took a step closer  
and another  
and another   
until they were close enough that when Andrew reached out a hand, he could put it flatly against Neil’s chest,  
using it to push him back against the wall.   
  
Neil swallowed,  
not daring to take his eyes off Andrew.   
  
But Andrew didn’t seem to have the same problem,  
eyes dropping to Neil’s mouth,  
his intention very clear  
and very welcomed by Neil,  
who closed his eyes as Andrew leaned in and crushed their lips together roughly.   
  
Neil knew the kiss would bruise him,  
regardless if it showed up on his skin.

Andrew tilted his head, slotting their lips together perfectly  
and harshly,  
pushing Neil’s head back against the wall.   
  
Not that Neil minded.

He just reached out, wanting to pull Andrew even closer,  
but before he could, Andrew’s hands had grabbed his wrists harshly and shoved them above his head,  
pinning Neil effectively against the wall,  
which made him gasp.   
Andrew took advantage of the situation by slipping his tongue in Neil’s mouth,  
sliding their tongues together in a way that made Neil’s legs shake.   
He was glad that Andrew was keeping him upright,  
because -   
  
A sound beside them made Andrew freeze and jerk back.   
  
Neil hazily opened his eyes,  
but 

‘Of all the things I wanted you to learn during detention, Josten.’

made them fly open in shock  
as Neil turned his head and saw Riko standing near the Slytherin common room entrance,  
arms crossed and a disgusted sneer on his face.

Neil had no comeback,  
so he lamely dropped his arms while Andrew took another few steps back,  
away from Neil and Riko.   
  
Neil saw that Andrew was holding his wand tightly in his fist,  
knuckles white.

Then  
Andrew turned around and walked away.   
  
Wand.  
Where was his wand?   
  
Neil looked down,  
but Riko was one step ahead of him, handing back his wand.

‘Think you dropped this,’ Riko laughed mockingly.    
  
Without saying anything back, Neil quickly grabbed his wand and walked past Riko towards the common room.   
  
ᶴ

That night,  
Neil had no trouble imaging.   
  
But when he was lying spent on his bed, sweaty and breathing hard,  he wondered if it had meant  
anything.   
  
Would it change  
something?

Neil closed his eyes.   
  
Being at rock bottom,  
it could only get better  
right?   
  
ᶴ  


The next day, Andrew wasn’t at breakfast.   
  
Neil wanted to walk towards the common room and ask Renee if something had happened,  
but she’d already walked up to him before he could.

‘Has-’ Neil started, but Renee immediately shook her head.   
  
‘No, not like that,’ she replied, smiling sadly,  
then walked out of the Great Hall.   
  
ᶴ

Andrew didn’t visit around noon  
nor the two hours after,  
Neil lingering longer than necessary in the kitchens.   
  
The house elf was giving him shifty glances,  
and Neil knew he was making it nervous so he eventually   
left.

ᶴ

Nothing changed the next day.   
  
ᶴ

Nor the next.

ᶴ

And Neil was yet again  
alone.

ᶴ  
  
‘I’m used to it,’ Neil said to himself,  
or to himself and the house elf, if it was listening.

‘I’m used to it,’ he repeated with a sigh.    
  
He wasn’t.   
Never had been.

ᶴ  
  
The end of Christmas break was nearing,  
and with it the return of all the Hogwarts students.   
  
Neil was dutifully cleaning the kitchen,  
mind blissfully numb for just a few seconds  
when suddenly the door to the kitchen opened,  
startling Neil more than he wanted to admit.

He turned around to look who it was and saw   
Andrew walking through the kitchen,  
and towards the cupboards that held all the food.   
  
Neil stared at him in surprise  
but Andrew either didn’t notice,  
which seemed unlikely,  
or he chose to ignore Neil like he’d done the past days.

Fine.   
  
Neil returned to his work.   
  
ᶴ

They both worked in quiet for the next couple of minutes,  
which hurt  
because it reminded Neil of before,  
of when he’d been hesitatingly happy.  
  
Andrew chose to break his silence by placing a plate in front of Neil.  
  
‘I’m not going to eat on the ground,’ Neil said.  
  
Instead of answering, Andrew simply sat down on the ground too  
and started eating his own sandwich.  
  
Neil watched him with narrowed eyes, but then begrudgingly followed his example.

Again,  
the silence lasted for a couple of minutes,  
and it was anything but comfortable.   
  
‘What happened?’ Neil eventually asked, keeping his voice steady.   
Like he wasn’t dying to know.

‘I’m guessing something,’ Andrew replied vaguely.

‘You know what I mea-’   
  
‘I’m sorry,’ Andrew said flatly,  
finally looking up,   
finally looking at Neil.   
  
Dread settled in Neil’s stomach,  
right next to his fear.

‘About?’ he asked, though he had a vague idea.   
  
‘The kiss.’   
  
Right.

Neil dropped his gaze,  
but his sandwich didn’t look very appealing right now.  
The sinking feeling in his stomach made it difficult to work up an appetite.   
  
‘I’m… not,’ Neil said carefully,  
turning the atmosphere in the room    
incredibly   
tense.

‘I am,’ Andrew replied flatly. ‘I shouldn’t have kissed you.’

Neil almost physically felt Andrew’s comment.   
  
Only years of learning not to make a noise  
caused Neil to be as quiet as he was.   
  
Blinking quickly against the stinging in his eyes,  
Neil shoved his sandwich away and got up to resume his cleaning,  
turning his back towards Andrew, not wanting to see him leave.

Neil heard Andrew standing up as well.   
  
‘Why did you do it then?’ Neil bit out without planning to.

‘I wanted to.’

What?

Neil turned around.   
‘Then why are you apologising?’

Andrew crossed his arms.  
‘I didn’t ask. You didn’t say yes. There was no consent.’   
  
He said it blankly,  
like it was obvious and easy  
and Neil realised with a start that it was.

‘What are you waiting for?’ he asked, maybe a little too irritated. ‘Ask me.’   
  
With a deadpan stare, Andrew asked,  
‘Are you stupid?’

Uncrossing his arms, Andrew took a step closer to Neil.

‘That’s not how it works, Neil. I shouldn’t have done that.’   
  
‘So?’ Neil said, wishing Andrew would take another step closer. ‘I’m giving you a second chance.’

Andrew’s answering smile was mocking.

‘Just like that?’

Neil nodded.   
  
Andrew’s eyes stared intensely into Neil’s,  
like Andrew was searching for the lie.

Then he took another step closer.

‘What’s in it for you?’ Andrew asked, voice bored.

‘That’s obvious.’ Neil watched Andrew move closer. ‘I lik-’

‘Neil,’ Andrew interrupted him,  
finally standing close enough for their noses to brush softly.   
‘Yes or no?’  
  
When Neil looked into Andrew’s eyes this time,  
nothing of the darkness  
or aggression was reflected in it.

If anything  
it was a careful  
and waiting look.

‘Yes.’

Closing his eyes when Andrew leaned in, Neil was unsure at first whether their lips were touching,  
the kiss featherlight and soft.

But he could hear the sound of Andrew’s soft breathing,  
could feel his breaths against his skin  
as Andrew gently moved their lips together.

Neil made a noise in the back of his throat,  
surprised how Andrew could take him apart faster with these gentle touches  
than the aggressive, bruising kisses days ago.   
  
Somehow  
it fitted.   
  
They fitted,  
as their lips moved together.

This time when Neil reached out,  
Andrew guided his hand to his hair,  
which Neil carded his fingers through   
and used it to pull Andrew closer.   
  
This time their bodies weren’t touching,  
but Neil’s entire body was thrumming   
and his heart was pounding wildly in his chest.

Andrew grasped his hips tightly,  
pushing Neil back against the kitchen counter   
and Neil suddenly remembered where they were,   
but he couldn’t really bring himself to care  
until Andrew leaned back.

‘The elf?’ Neil guessed dazidly.   
  
‘Disapparated,’ Andrew replied, voice a little rough.

Neil liked it.

Then Andrew let go of his hips and took a step back,  
causing Neil’s hands to fall uselessly beside his body.

Neil frowned at the distance between them.  
Andrew saw.

‘Regretting that second chance already?’

‘No,’ Neil answered, wanting to tell Andrew that there was no way it could be   
bad  
this thing between them,  
when it made him feel  
not alone.

But Andrew replied before he could.

‘You will,’ Andrew said, voice emotionless,   
taking the final steps towards the kitchen door.   
  
ᶴ  
  
In true Kevin fashion,  
the whole school was bustling about his return.   
  
Neil didn’t want to pay the comments any mind until he heard   
‘-staying in the Hospital wing now.’   
  
Immediately, Neil whirled around.   
  
‘What?’ he asked the two Ravenclaw students.   
  
‘Haven’t you heard?’ one of them replied, ‘Kevin Day’s in the hospital wing. They say he’s been attacked by some crazy Hufflepuff.’

Neil’s blood froze.

ᶴ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next time; 'It's obvious,' Riko said, clasping his hands in front of his chest. ‘Slytherin is being targeted.’
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! <3 I hope this was at all enjoyable! Please let me know what you thought if you want to :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovely people!
> 
> The last part! It's here! 
> 
> Lil' bit of intimacy happening here, from 'Neil groaned when Andrew's hands tugged harshly on his shirt' to 'Neil's mind was blissfully quiet'.
> 
> Enjoy :)

  
He practically flew over the steps as he ran towards the Hospital wing.   
  
Tons of fans were crowding the entrance, waiting for a chance to give their regards to Kevin.   
But a few jinxes here and there,   
and Neil had made his way through.   
  
‘Kevin,’ he said by way of greeting as he sat down on the bed.   
  
Kevin’s face was bruised and swollen  
and he sounded hilarious as he replied,  
‘Glad you can still recognize me.’   
  
‘It’s not that bad,’ Neil lied.   
  
Kevin’s stare told him he didn’t believe him.

‘What happened?’ Neil asked instead.   
  
‘I hope you’re not hanging out with Andrew,’ Kevin said threateningly,  
which was quite a feat seeing as talking must hurt.   
Neil admired his need for drama. 

‘Tough luck,’ Neil said. ‘I am.’   
  
‘Don’t,’ was Kevin’s response.   
  
It took Neil a second or two to get it.   
  
‘Wait,’ he said. ‘Do you mean- did Andrew?’   
  
‘Yes.’   
  
But that didn’t make any sense.  
  
‘Why?’   
  
Kevin looked pained to the side,  
and Neil could strangle him for not cutting to the chase.  
  
‘He has potential,’ Kevin explained. ‘I tried to talk him into trying out for a professional quidditch team. He didn’t like that.’   
  
‘So what? He punches you into oblivion months later?’   
  
‘Must be.’   
  
Neil scoffed.  
‘Not everyone is obsessed with you.’   
  
‘Then why did he?’ Kevin shot back.    
  
Neil had no answer to his question.   
  
ᶴ  
  
‘Here you are again.’   
Wymack looked skeptically at Neil.   
  
‘Here I am again,’ Neil agreed.   
  
‘How did detention go?’   
  
Neil shrugged.  
‘Fine.’   
  
Wymack leaned forward over his desk,  
and Neil couldn’t help flinching back.   
  
Wymack probably noticed, because he immediately sat down on his chair again.  
  
‘Kody told me you worked hard.’   
  
‘Who’s-’   
Oh.    
The quiet house elf.   
  
Wymack shook his head.   
‘S just common decency, Neil. You work together with someone for two weeks, you learn their name.’   
  
‘At least it didn’t cry,’ Neil tried.   
  
Wymack huffed a laugh.   
‘That’s also common decency.’

The atmosphere in Wymack’s extremely messy office was light  
and warm,  
reminding Neil a little of the Hufflepuff common room,   
and he wished Wymack could always give him detention.    
  
‘Sir,’ he began. ‘Now that Riko’s back… Doesn’t he need to supervise my detention?’

‘Bullshit. I gave you this detention, I will evaluate it.’   
  
‘No, that makes sense. I meant... in the future.’   
Neil kept his voice steady, not wanting to betray how much the answer meant to him.   
  
‘Oh,’ Wymack said. ‘Yeah, you’re not in Gryffindor, kid. It’s not up to me anymore.’   
  
Neil’s shoulders sagged regardless of his effort to sound like he didn’t care.   
  
‘Hey,’ Wymack said softly. ‘I’ve got some advice for you. Don’t get in detention again, okay?’   
  
As if it would be that easy, with Riko bullying him every other day.   
But Neil couldn’t tell Wymack that.  
  
So he nodded.

‘And you can always come talk to me if you need more advice,’ Wymack added,  
and this time his smile was just   
friendly.   
Open.

A weird feeling settled itself in Neil’s chest and so he quickly nodded again,  
trying to lighten the mood by replying,  
‘So you can give more obvious advice?’   
  
Wymack held up his hands.  
‘Hey. Sometimes it really  _ is _ that simple.’   
  
Neil doubted it.

ᶴ  
  
During dinner,  
Neil had nothing better to do than stare at the Hufflepuff table, searching for Andrew’s face.   
  
He told himself it was because Kevin was still in the hospital,  
so he didn’t have anyone to talk to,  
but.  
He knew it was because he was worried.   
  
But Andrew wasn’t at the Hufflepuff table.   
Neil did see Renee,  
and so when she stood up and walked past the Slytherin table, Neil quickly followed her.   
  
‘Renee,’ he called out.   
  
She didn’t look surprised to see him.  
  
‘I don’t know where he is.’   
  
It was what Neil had wanted to ask but.   
‘What? Why would my question be about Andrew?’   
  
Renee smiled at him in a way that told Neil   
she saw straight through him.   
  
It made Neil a little uncomfortable.

‘Thanks,’ he said quickly, and forced himself to return to the Slytherin table,  
if only to avoid walking with Renee for most of the way to the kitchens.

ᶴ   
  
Neil quietly opened the kitchen door,  
but what met him wasn’t the peaceful kitchen he’d come to know during the holidays.   
  
Dozens of house elves were bustling about,  
chatting about nothing and everything while they cooked and cleaned.   
  
Neil’s heart sank.   
  
For some reason, he’d hoped that Andrew would maybe be here,  
what he’d come to think of as their spot.   
But Andrew wasn’t sitting on one of the counters.   
  
Neil turned around to leave, until he felt a little hand tug on his trousers.   
  
The quiet house elf, or Kody apparently,  
was looking up at him with big, understanding eyes before pointing towards a far corner in the kitchen.

Neil followed his direction  
and saw Andrew sitting on the ground against the wall,  
knees raised, arms slung over them in a way that would’ve looked relaxed if it weren’t for the fact that Andrew’s hands were balled into fists  
and his whole frame was trembling.   
  
Just like Andrew had done yesterday,  
Neil sat down on the floor too.   
  
He didn’t talk.   
  
Yet Andrew looked up anyway,  
looking at Neil with a guarded look in his emotionless eyes.   
  
It felt like permission,  
so Neil said,  
‘You missed dinner.’   
  
‘I missed a lot more than just dinner,’ Andrew replied flatly.   
  
Though Neil didn’t know what   
exactly  
Andrew was talking about, he knew he recognized the feeling.   
Growing up with his father  
and mother  
wasn’t really growing up.

It was being thrown onto earth  
being slapped awake  
then dropped off a cliff,  
only to be told to make his way back to the top using his bare hands.   
And to use as many bodies as possible on the journey up.   
  
‘How’s Kevin?’ Andrew asked, eyes shifting from Neil to the ground, staring at it detachedly,  
like he didn’t recognize where he was.   
  
‘Unfortunately he can still talk,’ Neil replied,  
hoping it would be clear what he was implying.

‘Renee healed my fists.’   
  
‘She saw you?’   
  
‘Found me.’   
  
‘Why?’ Neil asked.   
  
‘I was angry.’   
  
Neil got that,    
he shared a dormitory with Kevin after all,  
but.   
  
‘Were you?’ he asked,   
because the Andrew he’d come to know didn’t match with the mental image of Andrew punching Kevin  
out of anger  
out of nowhere.   
  
‘I don’t lie, Neil,’ Andrew replied.    
  
Neil still didn’t buy it.  
‘That you know off,’ he said.   
  
‘Stop it,’ Andrew said, sounding bored. ‘I won’t fit into your stereotype.’   
  
‘I don’t think you fit into anyone’s stereotype.’

Andrew’s eyes finally found Neil’s again,  
and Neil wished he knew how he looked right now,  
because he wanted Andrew to know that he thought Andrew   
wasn’t  
a failure.

‘I know you’re not unfair, Andrew,’ Neil said. ‘But I know life is.’   
  
‘Stop being optimistic.’   
  
‘I’m not,’ Neil denied. ‘I’m skeptical.’  
  
ᶴ   
  
For some reason,  
Kevin hadn’t told anyone but Neil who’d hit him.   
  
‘What did you say?’ Neil asked, wondering why Kevin was still in the hospital wing.    
  
‘Told them I couldn’t see who’d done it.’   
  
‘Right,’ Neil said. ‘Why?’   
  
‘He has potential, Neil. I’m not going to throw that away.’   
  
Neil blinked at Kevin.  
‘Are you serious?’

Kevin glared at him.  
‘You know I don’t make jokes.’   
  
ᶴ  
  
If only it would be that simple.   
  
‘You’re our star, mister Day,’ Riko said silkily, ignoring Neil for now. ‘It’s only fair you told us who’s done this to you.’   
  
Neil subconsciously held his breath.   
  
‘I didn’t see.’   
  
And released it.  
  
‘Really?’ Riko asked. ‘Would you mind sharing your memory of the event? That could help us.’    
  
Kevin’s eyes shifted to Neil for a second,  
and Neil felt his heart sink  
because Riko would’ve seen  
because he  _ always _ saw doubt  
uncertainty  
weakness.   
  
‘It’s only to keep you, and others, safe,’ Riko continued, sounding like he was really concerned about anyone other than pureblood Slytherin kids.

Kevin didn’t say anything,  
and Neil saw Riko’s brow furrow slightly,  
still playing the overly concerned head of Slytherin.   
  
‘Kevin,’ Riko said slowly. ‘Why so reluctant? I’m starting to think you  _ do _ know who it was, but you’re afraid to share.’  
  
Neil prayed that Kevin wouldn’t show any signs that Riko had just  
nailed   
it.

Suddenly someone burst through the makeshift wards around the Hospital wing where Kevin resided.   
  
‘Wymack?’ Neil said in surprise.   
  
‘Heard what’s happening here,’ Wymack grunted. ‘But care to fill me in some more, professor Moriyama?’   
  
Riko’s concerned look was wiped off his face for a second or two,  
yet somehow Neil always saw those  _ real _ seconds,  
before slipping into his concerned role again.

‘I’m afraid someone might be blackmailing mister Day.’   
  
‘Blackmailing?’ Wymack repeated in surprise. ‘More like giving him a black eye.’   
  
Riko smiled.  
‘Well, I wouldn’t expect a Gryffindor to understand. Sometimes you have to look further. Look beyond the obvious answer.’   
  
For once, Neil agreed with Riko.

‘It’s just jealousy,’ Wymack shrugged. ‘Some kid was jealous of Kevin’s talent and looks, and retaliated.’   
  
‘But we can check to be sure, can’t we?’ Riko asked, turning his attention to Kevin again. ‘You don’t mind, do you?’   
  
If Kevin had looked at Neil,   
he would’ve seen the silent death threat,  
but he didn’t and so he hadn’t   
and so he said  
‘Fine.’   
  
Because Riko always saw weakness,  
and Kevin’s weakness was Riko.

Riko’s smile turned a little dangerous.   
‘Excellent.’   
  
ᶴ

While Riko and Wymack went into the nurse’s office, who was a friendly woman named Abby,  
to watch Kevin’s memory,  
Neil grabbed Kevin by the front of his shirt.

‘I swear to merlin, Kevin, I’ll give you a matching black eye.’  
  
Kevin didn’t look concerned.  
‘I tried Neil. But I don’t want to risk losing Riko’s trust.’  
  
Neil scoffed.  
‘Like that’s important.’

‘It is to my life.’   
  
Neil merely rolled his eyes,  
because while he didn’t share Kevin’s fear  
he still got it.   
Still grew up with the same threat.

‘Why do you care?’ Kevin asked.   
  
Letting go of Kevin’s shirt, Neil took a few steps back so he could lean against the wall next to the window, crossing his arms.

‘Why do you sneak out with Thea?’ he asked.   
  
It took a second for Kevin to answer.

‘What?’

Neil shrugged.

‘Neil,’ Kevin said seriously. ‘You can’t be gay.’   
  
Yeah.  
‘I know,’ Neil said. 

‘No, I don’t think you do,’ Kevin said, pushing himself upright and proving to Neil that he didn’t need to be in the hospital wing anymore.   
‘Neil. You  _ can’t _ be gay.’   
  
‘Thanks dad,’ Neil muttered, refusing to meet Kevin’s eye.   
  
‘Break it off.’

‘What? Like your face?’    
  
Kevin glared at him.  
‘Real mature.’   
  
Before Neil could think of a better insult,  
Riko and Wymack strolled back into the room.   
  
Neil could tell nothing from the look on Riko’s face,  
but Wymack looked  
defeated.   
  
‘So,’ Riko said, his lips curling into a slippery smile. ‘Andrew Minyard.’

ᶴ

Neil heard about it from Renee a few days later,  
and so when during potions Riko stopped near his cauldron,    
Neil said,

‘It doesn’t make sense. Why should Andrew have detention with  _ you _ ? He’s not even in Slytherin.’   
  
Riko’s pitch black eyes bored into Neil,  
but his smile was easy and light.  
And fake.   
  
‘He wronged a Slytherin. One of my own wards.’   
  
‘Since when do you care?’ Neil scoffed.

Riko tutted, shaking his head in disappointment.  
‘Oh, Neil. I always cared what happened to my students.’

‘You’re head of Slytherin alright,’ Neil shot back,  
not believing Riko’s lie  
for a second.  
  


ᶴ

Neil tried to find Andrew alone,  
so he could talk to him, ask him how detention with Riko was,  
but he couldn’t find him.

He tried to find out  _ where _ his detention was, but since he had no idea  _ when  _ it was still a frustrating work in progress.  
  
The evading lasted only a pathetic week  
until the entrance to the Slytherin common room swung open one night,  
a few students walking in, carrying a bloodied Slytherin guy between them that Neil actually recognized as Jean Moreau.   
  
Neil’s world seemed to spin,   
just like students were spinning around Jean, asking him   
what  
when  
why  
but most importantly   
who.

Not wanting it to be Andrew,  
and needing to be sure,   
Neil immediately ran towards the kitchens  
and found   
Andrew   
sitting on the ground,  
knuckles split  
and blood covering his uniform and face.

‘How do you get away?’ Neil asked.

Andrew looked up,  
a maniacal smile spreading across his face.  
‘Excellent question, Neil. How do I get you to go away?’

Neil flinched back,  
shocked to see the same darkness in Andrew’s eyes as the night he’d been pushed against the wall and-

‘Why Jean?’

‘Who?’ Andrew asked, getting to his feet. ‘I just saw the Slytherin tie.’

‘So it’s hate against Slytherin?’ Neil said,  
though he didn’t believe that to be true for a second.

Andrew laughed,  
the first time Neil heard him laugh,   
and it sounded fake and horrible.

What happened?

‘Were you not listening? Probably not. I want you to go away.’

A terrible thought   
wormed its way into Neil’s head.

‘Did you want it to be… me?’

Andrew looked at Neil in surprise.

‘Why don’t you just go away? Hm? You’re still here.’   
Andrew took a threatening step closer, lifting his bloodied fist.   
‘What do I have to do to make you leave? Kill you?’ 

Reaching out, Andrew grabbed hold of Neil’s throat.  
  
‘Leave my head,’ Andrew said, pronouncing every word carefully while still smiling widely at Neil.

The fact that Andrew wasn’t squeezing  
wasn’t cutting of his air,  
made Neil confident enough to reply,  
‘If you leave mine first.’

‘No, no no.’ Andrew’s smile disappeared. ‘No. That’s not how this is going to be.’

‘Why did you attack Jean?’ Neil asked again.

‘I was angry,’ Andrew replied.

‘Why?’    
  
‘I-’ Andrew paused,   
then tightened his grip on Neil’s neck.   
  
Neil gasped,  
trying to reach for his wand before realizing it was in his backpocket and he’d never be able to get it swiftly.

‘Not how… I imagined,’ Neil wheezed, ‘To get bruises… on my neck.’

For a second,  
Andrew didn’t respond and Neil felt his mind spin as spots danced around his vision,  
but then Andrew used his grip on Neil to   
push him   
against the counter.

‘Yes or no?’

Oh  
‘Yes,’ Neil breathed with the last of his breath.

Making quick work of Neil’s tie,  
Andrew released his hold on Neil’s neck, instead grabbing both his wrists and binding them together behind his back,  
before leaning in and capturing Neil’s lips in a hot, messy kiss.

Neil groaned when Andrew’s hands tugged harshly on his shirt,  
not caring that he heard a few buttons fly off,  
because Andrew was running his hands all over Neil’s skin  
and it made Neil hard as fuck.  
  
Andrew started placing hot kisses on Neil’s neck,  
causing Neil to shudder,  
and then Andrew’s hand was travelling down, grasping his belt and unclasping it in one swift movement.   
Neil’s hips shifted forward as Andrew gripped him through his boxers,  
groaning loudly.

‘Shut the fuck up,’ Andrew breathed against his skin,  
before deciding he didn’t trust Neil to manage  
and capturing his lips in another messy kiss.   
  
Curling his hand tightly around Neil’s dick,  
Andrew started jerking him off with slow and steady strokes that would be maddening if it weren’t for the fact that Neil was already so close.   
  
Andrew moved to Neil’s neck again,  
lips hovering over his skin,  
warm breath raising goosebumps all over Neil’s body.  
  
‘You wanted bruises?’   
  
Neil nodded.

‘Yes.’   
  
Though it started with a gentle press of Andrew’s mouth against his skin, it quickly turned feverishly passionate, Andrew nearly breaking the skin of Neil’s neck with his teeth.   
Which was hot.   
  
The combined feeling of Andrew abusing his neck  
while jerking him off was almost too good.

‘I can’t touch you?’ Neil panted, wanting to return the favour.

‘Such observation skills,’ Andrew murmured.

‘I want… want to,’ Neil groaned,  
hips shifting in sync with Andrew’s hand.

‘Yeah?’ Andrew asked lowly, squeezing Neil’s dick and ripping a moan from his throat. ‘Too bad. Can’t always get what you want.’

Then Andrew sped up his strokes,  
which was too much,  
and Neil’s hips were shifting forward desperately,   
so Andrew quickly leaned in to capture Neil’s groan  
as Neil came over Andrew’s hand.

Neil’s mind was blissfully quiet for a few moments as he stared unseeingly at Andrew’s hand,  
before realizing  
what exactly just happened  
and what had happened before.

He jerked upright, locking eyes with Andrew.

But there was no darkness or aggression in Andrew’s eyes,  
just a sort of detachedness that Neil had come to expect.

‘Why did you do it?’ Neil asked carefully.

‘I don’t like answering either,’ Andrew said. ‘But I’ll give you one if you give me one in return.’

Neil nodded,  
not sure which answer he hoped he was going to get.

‘I wanted to.’

Oh.   
Neil frowned.  
That could mean both.

‘Your turn. Why are you afraid of Moriyama?’

‘His family works together with mine,’ Neil answered, a little surprised at the question. ‘More like my family works for his.’

Andrew tilted his head to the side.  
‘Boring.’

‘I guess purebloods aren’t all that interesting,’ Neil said.

‘Don’t lie.’

ᶴ  
  
‘What’s that on your neck?’ Kevin asked,  
staring at it during breakfast.

Neil took extra care chewing his toast.

‘Don’t ignore me,’ Kevin said, irritated. ‘And don’t tell me you’re going to flaunt your sexual activities on your neck.’

‘So far nobody’s staring aside from  _ you _ ,’ Neil said.

‘It looks like you’ve been strangled.’

Neil was getting sick of this conversation.  
‘Does that turn you on?’

Kevin looked affronted by the insinuation.   
  
‘Why do you still hang around Andrew?’ he asked. ‘He’s beaten up two Slytherins now.’

‘Because I don’t believe it’s as simple as that.’

Kevin rolled his eyes.  
‘He’s a Hufflepuff. Of course it’s as simple as that.’

‘That’s a stereotype,’ Neil pointed out. ‘You’re a Slytherin, and you’re not cunning in the slightest. As long as it’s quidditch, you’ll sacrifice every brain cell you have left.’

‘It’s called ambition,’ Kevin argued. 

‘It’s fucking predictable.’

Kevin leaned forward,  
narrowing his eyes.  
‘Well congratulations. With Andrew, you’ve just made yourself predictable too.’   
  
ᶴ  
  
‘It’s obvious,’ Riko said, clasping his hands together in front of his chest as he looked at all the Slytherins in the common room. ‘Slytherin is being targeted.’   
  
Neil scoffed,  
but thankfully he was sitting in the back of the room, half hidden behind a bookcase, so he wasn’t heard.   
  
‘This is not uncommon of course,’ Riko continued. ‘Slytherin has always been the underdog. Misunderstood and misjudged. Because, if we’re being honest with each other, how many of you have been judged when people found out you’re in Slytherin?’   
  
His black eyes flitted across all the quiet faces while, slowly, a lot of hands raised into the air.   
  
Neil hated how Riko twisted the truth for his own purpose.  
Then again,  
it was the skill most Slytherins possessed, wasn’t it?   
  
‘And this time, it’s someone at Hogwarts. Your second home. Does that make you feel… safe?’

A few students shook their heads,  
and then some girl from fourth year said loudly,  
‘No.’   
  
Riko’s smile curled dangerously as he was slowly getting ready to drop his bomb.   
‘Targeted by a Hufflepuff no less,’ Riko continued. ‘Are you going to let Andrew Minyard get away with this?’

It wasn’t smart to start shouting in the common room,  
amidst a crowd that was feeling left out and unsafe.   
  
Still Neil’s hands curled into fists at the obvious call to action  
and his mouth was already saying the words before he could hold them in.

‘So you think fighting aggression with aggression is the solution? You think that’s going to make people think differently about Slytherin?’

Riko’s eyes found Neil immediately,  
making Neil doubt if Riko hadn’t heard and seen Neil’s every sigh.

‘I think,’ Riko said slowly, ‘It’s a better option than fucking him.’

Neil’s cheeks flamed  
from embarrassment at Riko knowing,  
from anger at Riko knowing  
from-   
‘Since when are teacher allowed to sneak into our dormitories?’ Neil asked.   
  
Some students shifted nervously at Neil’s insinuation.

‘I think that’s a violation of our privacy,’ Neil continued. ‘I mean, who knows you’re not watching the girls too?’

There was a deafening and uncomfortable silence,  
where all the students looked uncomfortably at Riko, whispering to each other about what they hoped their professor hadn’t noticed or seen,  
while Riko tried to keep his anger from showing.

‘You have no proof,’ Riko hissed.

Neil shrugged,  
eyes narrowing at Riko.

‘Maybe,’ he said. ‘But I suck at healing spells, and I mean… Voyeurism isn’t a long stretch then, is it, professor?’   
  
For those few honest seconds,  
Riko’s facade slipped,  
and again Neil could see his eyes light up green.   
  
Kevin leaned closer to Neil.  
‘I don’t want to hang around you anymore.’

Neil rolled his eyes.  
‘This is why you’re not in Gryffindor.’

ᶴ

But Neil’s accusation didn’t help entirely  
and while Andrew was still actively avoiding Neil,  
or it seemed that way at least,  
Neil caught up with Renee one day and was surprised to see her right arm badly swollen from a stinging hex, by the looks of it.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked.

Renee hummed.  
‘It would help if I could use my wand arm again. It’s awkward during lessons, not being able to take notes or practice magic.’

‘Who did this to you?’

Just like Andrew,  
Renee didn’t try to make the situation into something it wasn’t as she answered,  
‘Some girls from Slytherin.’

But she did look a little uncomfortable,  
unlike Andrew.

Stop comparing them, Neil told himself.

‘I know the countercurse,’ Neil offered.

‘You do? That would be nice,’ Renee smiled, making Neil entirely uncomfortable, so he quickly whipped out his wand and pointed it at her arm.

He understood how it must’ve looked as some Gryffindor guy suddenly ran towards them and pushed Neil out of the way.

‘Hey! Stop harassing her,’ the guy said, holding out his wand as well.

Neil held up his hands.  
‘I wasn’t.’

‘Yeah? Why should I believe you?’ 

‘Matt,’ Renee said calmly. ‘He didn’t hex me. He actually tried to undo the hex.’

Matt’s eyes looked suspiciously from Neil to Renee’s arm and back again.  
  
‘Who did that to you?’ he finally asked Renee, who looked like she didn’t want to answer that question.   
  
‘Can I just heal her arm?’ Neil asked.   
  
The guy turned his attention to Neil again,  
who tried not to be intimidated.  
Matt was huge.

‘Yeah, sure, I guess,’ Matt said, putting away his wand, but not moving an inch.   
  
With a swish of his wand and a muttered spell,  
Neil watched in satisfaction as Renee’s arm returned to its normal size and shape.

‘Thank you, Neil,’ Renee said.

Neil was putting his wand away awkwardly when a hand suddenly clapped him hard on the shoulder,  
causing Neil to stumble forward.

‘Hey man, that was nice of you,’ Matt said. ‘Sorry for suspecting you. But you gotta understand how it looked…’

Neil nodded.

Matt thrust out his big hand,  
looking expectantly at Neil,  
who stared in suspicion at it for a second or two before reluctantly shaking it.

Matt smiled.  
‘I’m Matt.’

‘Neil.’

‘Nice to meet you. Hey, if Renee thinks you’re alright, then you’ve got to be, so let’s all hang out together some time, okay?’

No, you don’t know me, Neil thought. I could’ve healed her arm as a favour,  
a collected debt.  
  
Fucking Gryffindors.

But Neil said  
‘Sure.’  
instead.

ᶴ

It was purely by accident,  
because Neil had worked longer than he’d expected in the library,  
but when he walked back towards the Slytherin common room, he heard something fall and crash in Riko’s office.

Weird.

Neil slowed his steps, made them as quiet as he could, while listening for another sound.

There wasn’t any.

But Neil hadn’t grown up in his father’s household to be satisfied with thinking it was nothing.  
It usually was something.

So he sneaked towards the door handle,  
only to be surprised when it opened after a simple  _ alohomora _ .   
  
What was even stranger however,  
was the fact that Riko’s office was empty.

Neil looked around carefully but couldn’t see anyone.

Strange.   
  
Because the sound had definitely come from here.

But when Neil checked the floor, he couldn’t find any shards.  
  
What should he d-  
One of the tiles in the right corner of Riko’s office started moving,  
startling Neil,  
but not enough that he didn’t have the foresight to hide behind a desk,  
casting a quick and sloppy silencing spell on himself.  
  
Between the chair and the desk,   
Neil could see an opening forming in the wall   
and then Andrew stalked out,  
blood dripping from a cut on his forehead.

_ What? _

Neil wanted to jump up,   
wanted to run towards Andrew,  
but then Riko walked out of the opening too,  
chuckling to himself as he moved towards his desk.

‘Have fun with Neil, Andrew,’ Riko said.

Neil’s eyes widened.

ᶴ  


When Riko went into his sleeping chamber, which was connected to his office,  
Neil quickly bolted through the door and to  
to…  
To where, exactly?

He took a bet on the Slytherin common room and ran in that direction,  
hearing the muffled sounds of a fight as he got closer.

Near the entrance he could see Andrew bent over a Slytherin girl, punching her with a devotion most people left for Sunday.

‘Andrew!’ Neil exclaimed without thinking, pulling his wand from his pocket and throwing a simple jinx Andrew’s way,  
causing Andrew to stumble back,  
away from the girl.

A quick look told Neil she was bleeding,  
but then he focused his attention on Andrew who was breathing heavily and slowly raising his fists,   
eyes locked onto Neil.

The darkness was back again.

‘Andrew,’ Neil said slowly. ‘You don’t want to hit this girl.’

‘I do,’ Andrew said, taking a step towards Neil. ‘But you’re right. I want to hit you more.’

It took all of Neil’s self control not to flinch back  
or show any fear  
while he slowly put away his wand.

It could either be clever  
or extremely stupid.

Andrew watched his move with amusement.  
‘Want me to touch you that badly?’

Neil gave Andrew his best casual shrug.  
‘I’m used to violence.’

‘Aww. People not nice to you?’

Neil shook his head.  
‘People aren’t nice.’

Andrew laughed humourlessly.  
‘Sounds like someone had a shitty childhood.’

‘You’re one to talk,’ Neil scoffed. ‘Any anger management issues, Andrew?’

Andrew’s smile only widened.

‘Run, Neil. Now you still can.’   
  
No way.

‘I hate to break it to you, but I’m not going anywhere.’

Andrew’s jaw clenched,  
and his fists trembled as he took another step towards Neil,  
close enough to touch him if he reached out.

‘I want to kill you,’ Andrew said.

Neil was sure this wasn’t the time for cockiness  
but.

‘More than you want to kiss me?’

Anger flashed hot white through Andrew’s eyes   
as he suddenly raised his fist into the air  
prepared to swing it against Neil’s head,  
just like Riko had done.

But he didn’t.   
  
They stared into each other’s eyes for a few seconds,  
a few honest seconds,  
where Neil expected to see the same green light in Andrew’s eyes as he’d so often seen in Riko’s,  
in his father’s,  
but he didn’t.

He saw a flash of something like   
desire  
for more than kissing  
for more than sex.

A desire   
for more.

Then Andrew reached for his wand with a speed Neil hadn’t expected,  
anger returning as he pointed it over Neil’s shoulder and fired off a hex.

Behind him,    
Neil heard a shocked grunt  
and when he whirled around saw Riko down on one knee,  
wand in hand,  
raising his wand at them  
and before Neil could do anything,  
Andrew fired another hex,  
causing Riko to fall on his back.

In a second, Andrew was at Riko’s side and punched him hard  
in the face.

Twice,  
for good measure.

‘Is he unconscious?’ Neil asked.

Andrew nodded,  
not turning around  
or walking away  
and suddenly the entrance to the Slytherin common room opened behind Neil as a few students walked out.

‘Shit,’ Neil muttered.  
  
ᶴ

‘Professor-’ Neil tried to protest, but Wymack held up his hand.   
‘I’m flattered that you’ve come to complain to me, truly, but I can’t do anything about this Neil. Andrew punched a teacher for god sake.’

‘I know it sounds bad when you say it like that,’ Neil began but Wymack cut him off again.

‘Because it  _ is _ bad. And it’s exactly what happened.’

‘But it’s one side of the story!’ Neil exclaimed in frustration, ‘If someone pushed me off a broom, you wouldn’t call me a bad flier, would you?’

Wymack looked at Neil in thought.  
Then he sighed.   
‘Okay. You’ve got a point there.’   
  
‘So will-’

‘But,’ Wymack stopped him. ‘There is no proof, apart from almost the entire Slytherin house seeing Andrew standing over professor Moriyama with bleeding fists.’ 

Neil nodded,  
feeling anger bubble up underneath his skin.

‘Fine.’

ᶴ

If Wymack wouldn’t listen to reason,  
than Neil would  _ show _ him reason.

His feet were already walking faster,  
speeding up,  
and then he was running towards the dungeons,  
towards Riko’s office.

ᶴ

He threw open the door with a bang,   
because Riko was still in the hospital, like Kevin overstaying his welcome.

Frustrated,  
Neil spit out,  
‘ _ Accio _ proof that Riko is a bitch.’

Of course nothing happened,  
but Neil felt a little better.

Putting away his wand for now, Neil decided to start by simply combing through the office.   
  
The desk seemed like the safest choice,  
but when he ran his hands across the surface, his mind instantly connected it to the feeling of his head  
bashing  
against the desk.

Neil quickly drew back his hand.

Think, Neil.  
Don’t be traumatized.   
  
Neil leafed through a few papers on Riko’s desk.

Riko was a potion master.   
He was decent at magic, but aside from a few spells, Neil had seen Riko use potions  
or his fists  
more.

A little like Andrew, Neil thought, then told himself to stop comparing,  
to stop thinking about Andrew every chance he got.

But that was just it, wasn’t it?

Andrew was the reason Neil was doing this.

Sure, Neil had never hated anyone as much as he hated Riko and it was a big motivator that he could maybe bring Riko down by doing this,  
but his driving thought right now was  
Andrew.

Ironically,  
it was Riko who had brought them together,  
during that first detention where Andrew had barely looked at him, where he’d finished his potion earlier even though Neil was sure a Hate Potion wasn’t any easier than Alihotsy Draught.   
  
They’d never even studied those potions in class.

So why make them brew it?  
Because it was difficult.  
Or…

What did Neil know about Alihotsy Draught?

It induced hysteria.   
  
Neil’s eyes widened.

But he had to be sure.   
  
So Neil walked towards the section of the wall that opened last time he’d been here    
and took out his wand.

ᶴ  
  
For Neil’s accusation, Riko was willing to drag his useless and weak body out of his hospital bed and towards Wymack’s office.

‘This is serious, Neil,’ Wymack said. ‘You’re accusing professor Moriyama of willingly turning a student against other students.’

‘I know.’

Riko laughed.  
‘And what pathetic proof did you find?’

Neil opened his bag and took out two bottles of potion.  
  
‘This.’

Riko’s eyes widened comically.

‘What’s that?’ Wymack took the potions.

‘One of them is a Hate Potion, and the other is Alihotsy Draught,’ Neil pointed out. ‘Combined they can make someone wild with rage.’

Wymack opened one of the potions and pulled a face when a whiff of the potion hit his nostrils.  
‘Smells like Alihotsy alright.’   
  
‘Riko used these on Andrew,’ Neil said. ‘To make him so angry and reckless that he’d punch people.’

‘How did you get these?’ Riko hissed. 

‘From the secret room in your office,’ Neil answered.

‘What?’ Riko spit out. ‘How-’

‘You’re not great at difficult spells,’ Neil shrugged. ‘I figured it must be something else and I was right. It’s just like the wall behind the Leaky Cauldron. A few taps on the bricks and the door opened.’

Riko’s inky eyes looked downright murderous as he stared at Neil.

‘But why didn’t Andrew hit you?’ Wymack asked.

For a second, some part of Neil wanted to say   
‘the power of love’  
but he refrained.|  
Also because it wasn’t true.  
Not that  _ that _ had stopped him before.

‘Those potion bottles are full,’ Neil pointed to the ones on Wymack’s desk. ‘Riko used the last of the previous potions yesterday, the ones Andrew and I brewed during detention. Because of that, they probably weren’t as powerful and so a few drops wouldn’t be enough for a long fit of madness.’

Wymack looked at him in stunned silence,  
then turned his gaze towards Riko.

‘Why the fuck did you attack your own students?’

‘I did no-’

‘Apart from the fact that he doesn’t give two shits about us,’ Neil interrupted Riko, ‘He was probably targeting me. And missed spectacularly every time.’  
Neil gave Riko a disappointed look.  
‘Truly dreadful,  _ professor _ .’

Riko’s wand was in his hand before Neil could dodge  
and the green light that Neil had so often seen reflected  
was now  _ really _ reflected as Riko’s mouth formed the words  
_ Avada Ka-  
_   
He was disarmed by Wymack before he could complete the sentence.

Disarmed meaning that Wymack punched Riko in the face.   
  
‘I thought we were wizards,’ Neil muttered, but watched with satisfaction as Riko fell down, unconscious.

‘Yeah, but this feels better,’ Wymack grunted, straightening himself. ‘What I don’t fully understand though, is the Hate Potion.’  
  
Neil coughed awkwardly,   
his gaze falling to the ground.

‘Yeah, uh, Riko tried without it at first and... it probably would’ve worked because the first time Andrew  _ did _ find me. But Riko hadn’t expected that he, uh,’ Neil broke off awkwardly, scratching his neck  
and then freezing as he realized what he was drawing attention to.

Wymack huffed out a laugh.  
‘Right.’

Neil looked up.  
‘Is this  _ proof  _ enough?’

Crossing his arms over his chest, Wymack leaned back in his chair.   
He stared thoughtfully at Neil for a few moments before grinning.

‘Fuck, I’d say it is.’

ᶴ

Andrew’s name was cleared,  
Riko was fired, though it was all hushed up,  
and Kevin had to eat his words  
to Neil’s great satisfaction.

To Neil’s not so great satisfaction,  
the bruises on his neck had faded  
and he refused to let them be a metaphor.

‘I’m going,’ Neil announced to Kevin, who was in the middle of lifting his spoon of soup towards his mouth.

‘What?’

‘Enjoy your excuse of a dinner.’

And Neil marched towards the Hufflepuff table,   
where he saw Renee already watching him, smiling encouragingly.   
  
Beside her, Neil saw Andrew stiffen, but he didn’t give two shits as he shoved a Hufflepuff to the side to sit in front of Andrew.

‘Hi.’

Andrew’s brown eyes bored into his.  
‘I’m not going to say thanks.’   
  
Neil shrugged.  
‘I’m not going to leave.’

Andrew’s eyes narrowed.  
‘You’re not in Hufflepuff.’

Neil smiled.  
‘Oh no,’ he said in mock horror. ‘So stereotypical, Andrew.’

He heard Renee giggle behind her hand.

‘You don’t have to do anything for me,’ Andrew said lowly.

Neil pretended to be surprised.  
‘What? Did you think I did it for free? I’m a Slytherin, remember?’

‘What do you want?’ 

‘To hang out with you,’ Neil said casually.

He was pretty sure Andrew’s stare was supposed to be threatening,  
but if there was one thing Neil was good at,  
it was seeing the flashes,  
the honest seconds in someone’s eyes.   
  
And just for a second or two  
there it was in Andrew’s eyes.   
  
The unspoken   
yes.

‘That’s a long payment,’ Andrew remarked.

Neil shrugged.  
  
‘I  _ did _ clear your name.’

Andrew stared at him.

And Neil knew that something unspoken wasn’t going to cut it,  
so he leaned forward,  
making sure to let his gaze drop quickly to Andrew’s lips for a second,  
a quick, honest second  
so Andrew would be sure he was also asking  
for more  
than hanging out.   
  
‘Yes or no, Andrew?’

The answer was immediate.

‘Yes.’

ᶴ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thanks so much to YunaDragreel for putting up with my moods during the making of this fic, and helping me form this universe <3 
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed the story, and thanks so much for the simply WONDERFUL support! Means a lot <3
> 
> Have a nice December, guys!


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